*sob* Erwinia

[billc]

Erwina is terrible. It affects the plant so quickly that by the time you realize whats going on, you've lost 1/2 the plant. I had it this spring on a St Swithin and what was a beautiful 20" ls plant is now a 8" stubbly little thing. But the good news is I saved it. I used hydrogen peroxide daily for 4 days and then every other day for a week.

This stuff is supposed to work wonders on Erwina rots, I have no first hand experience with it, but I was talking to a local orchid grower about my problem after the fact and he told me about this.
The Healing Forest Dragon's Blood Sangre de Grado


Good Luck!

Bill

[RJSquirrel]

yup I think thats what I been calling soft brown rot. It can eat a whole plant overnight and leave it turned to smelly mush.
I cut all the affected parts out or off and treated the wounds with cinnamon.Then a re-pot with fresh mix and no water for at least a week to see what else falls off. I keep them to the side make sure they are okey before I put them back with they buddies missing an arm or a leg. I had a few that got hurt really bad and at some point its just more trouble waiting and they hit the trash can.
I wish you best of luck though in your fight with nature

[fishmommy]

things seem to be holding steady with Phyton27 and a pack of razor blades.

it's going to be years before I see any more blue ribbons

[silken]

So sorry to hear of your troubles. Glad to hear it is possibly under control.

[RosieC]

I start thinking as I read this that I had a narrow escape from this.

I spotted a leaf on a phal which had overnight turned to soft brown mush from half way along to the tip. I cut it off well into the good tissue and put cinnamon on the cut and nothing else ever came of it.

I had intended at the time to post a picture here and ask you guys what you thought of it, but I never got around to it. Now from all the descriptions it sounds like it could be this nasty thing.

So glad I spotted it early and did the right think removing the infected tissue.

[fishmommy]

yep, that sounds like the same problem - great that you caught it early, since it moves very fast!

[Angurek]

Sorry to hear about your predicament, Fishmommy (I can relate, since my entire collection has become infected with this wretched disease). I'm afraid I can't offer any support other than what's already been said in this thread.

However, one last-ditch way of saving plants is to divide and repot them. I've been able to rescue a couple of plants by dividing out the rotten part and repotting the surviving section. Granted, the plants I saved this way are sulking, but they're alive.

I wish you a lot of luck, and I hope you can rid yourself of this bacterial curse.

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I think a collection infection is every orchid hobbiest's biggest nightmare.

It's not just a nightmare for me - it's a fact of life. It's come to the point where I enjoy a plant and then wait for the disease to inevitably destroy it. Gone are the days when my collection was robust and healthy. *sigh*

[fishmommy]

update - things are under control I believe thanks to strict hygeine and Phyton 27.
Jury is still out as to whether I will lose my Paph Ho Chi Minh but everything else is doing well.
It will be a loooong time before I can stop obsessively checking everything but so far so good.

[glengary54]

Although the linked study was done primarily for commercial growers, the results are applicable to home growers equally.

http://riseofbiopesticides.com/files...ed%20Crops.pdf

[Eyebabe]

Originally Posted by glengary54

Although the linked study was done primarily for commercial growers, the results are applicable to home growers equally.

http://riseofbiopesticides.com/files...ed%20Crops.pdf

Excellent link!